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Overbrook Gardens Association
Serving Members
of a 538 Home Boating Community on Forked Creek's North Banks |
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Security Patrol Automobile Patrol We all want our families
and property to be safe. County, State, and Federal records show that
neighborhoods with an active patrol program have significantly less trouble
The security patrol is manned by a volunteer group of your neighbors. Two-hour car patrols of Overbrook Gardens are made two or three evenings a week. You place the magnetic Security Patrol reflective signs on the sides and back of your car and simply ride around the area at a slow speed with the cell phone and large flood light provided. If you see something suspicious or questionable you call it in and then leave the area. You are not to get out of the car or take any action other than calling the police. You are simply the eyes for the law. Patrol teams are two people, usually husband and wife. They are given one hour of training to prepare for conducting patrols. The training is not difficult. It includes how to use the cell phone provided, what information to observe and report, and how to make sure you are always safe during the patrol. After your training you call the Patrol Chairperson to schedule a patrol at a time, day or evening, that is convenient to you about once every two months. If you do not have a partner there are other similar participants who have been trained and are willing to be paired up with another person. Everyone, including renters, can help. If you are not already a member of the Security Patrol, we need your help especially if your are usually here in the summer. Contact Maria Hallabrin, 475-5703, to schedule your training.
Volunteers attending the Feb. 2011 Association business meeting showed off their new shirts New Additions to our Overbrook Gardens Security Patrol
In the spring of 2010, we noted that many of our residents, with and without pets, were walking and riding bikes in our neighborhoods for exercise throughout the day and evening. It seemed logical that we recruit these folks to help our security patrol program. After receiving Board approval, Neptune Drive became the pilot street for our recruitment effort. Over several months, we found that this idea not only stimulated people's interest in security in general, but increased their familiarity of the neighborhood. The end result - we were having fun, made new friends, and felt more connected to our neighborhood and it’s safety. Since it’s inception on Neptune, neighbors from Forked Creek, Fairview Drive, Greenlawn Drive, Keyway Rd, and Overbrook Road have joined in as well.
Our Neptune neighbor, Glenn Murphy, owner of Sampan Screen Printing in Utica, Indiana, has helped us boost interest by providing us with T-shirts and bandanas for our pets. He also obtained samples of lightweight vests which work for winter and summer use, and sweatshirts as well. These items will add to our safety, as well as visibility.
Recently, Maria Hallabrin, our Security Patrol Chairwoman, and Paula have met with Deputy DeWayne Hill, who is the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Crime Prevention Deputy for our area. He was very impressed with our efforts to boost interest in our Security Patrol. He did tell us, however, that currently the Citizen’s Patrol programs didn’t sanction the extra activities (walking and bikes). Basically, this meant that we currently don't meet the training and responsibilities that are necessary to be entirely legitimate. We found a compromise, however. By participating in the official training for new automobile patrol volunteers, which involves about an hour of our time and agreeing to participate in a minimum of two regular (driving) patrols per year (one, if you are seasonal), the walking and biking patrol folks are recognized as Security Patrol with additional activities. The next training class is February 2, 2011 at Maria’s home.
To learn more about, or to sign up with our Security Patrol, please contact Maria Hallabrin, 475-5703. If you have questions about the walkers (K-9) & bike patrols, contact Paula Cullison, 474-0304. We would love to have more community participation.
Not pictured are Misty and Diane Jahr, Annie & Steve Walmsley, Dick & Barb Wesling, Jim Schott, Charles & Darlene Briggs, Karen & Schuyler Bush, Skip & Marty Wheeler, and George Graham. For those K-9 & bike patrol members that are not pictured here, please contact Paula Cullison so your photos may be included as well. Security Patrol Members, Walkers & Bikers While reviewing the choices for safety vests and sweatshirts (the heavy weight) with our printer in December, we discovered that the since the sweatshirts were such high quality, they were more expensive than originally thought. We found that we would need to charge $20.00 per sweatshirt to cover the material costs. We are planning to go with a lesser quality safety vest, so we do not anticipate any additional cost for those. Our T-shirts are available, at no cost to our Security Patrol volunteers. If you would like to order a sweatshirt, please contact Maria or Paula to make the arrangements. Please let us know if you are still in need of a T-shirt. We have a good supply of T-shirts at the moment. If you need a vest, (we recommend this for our walkers and bikers), please let us know your size. Order a larger size if necessary, as in the winter these can be worn over a coat or jacket for safety and visibility. Contact Maria Hallabrin, 475-5703 or Paula Cullison, 474-0304.
In Memoriam
Sadly, we share the news of the passing of our first K-9 patrol member, Remy Cullison, as he lost his battle to Kidney Failure on January 5, 2011. He was 6 ½ years old.
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than
those without one. A key element is a marked car, clearly visible,
frequently moving about the neighborhood. This calls for our help because
it requires patrols more often than the sheriff alone can perform.
